ASSETS

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Dr. Margaret Marcus, Executive Director of the Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation, and Dr. Conor Williams, researcher and writer focused on educational equity, school diversity, and public policy, to explore the future of multilingual education… Read more

Episode Description In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Dr. Diane August, nationally recognized researcher and expert in multilingual learner education, to discuss the critical role of academic language development in supporting student success. Drawing on decades of research and… Read more

In this episode of the Project ASSETS Podcast, Project Coordinator Lauren Wood reflects on the often unseen and underrecognized work of educators who support multilingual learners. Drawing from her firsthand experience working closely with EL/ML educators, Lauren shares insights into the dedication, sacrifice, and… Read more

In this episode of the Project ASSETS Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, a leading expert in multilingual education and co-teaching for English learners. Dr. Honigsfeld shares her insights on effective strategies to support multilingual learners, the importance of collaboration among educators, and how… Read more

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence is joined by Anya Hurwitz and Karen Salinas Ascencio for a thoughtful conversation centered on language development, literacy growth, and asset-based instruction for multilingual learners. Together, they explore how language acquisition unfolds across… Read more

In this episode, host Jobi Lawrence welcomes Rosmery Milczewski, Assistant Principal at Flushing International High School in New York City and a member of the International Network for Public Schools. Rosmery shares her journey from immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager from Colombia to becoming a leader in… Read more

n this episode, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence is joined by Chandler Miranda, an educator and advocate with extensive experience supporting newcomer students and families, to explore what it means to create sanctuary in schools. The conversation centers on the concept of radical welcome and the mindset shifts educators and… Read more

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Sam Finn, Director of Newcomer Policy and Practice at Californians Together and a leader with the California Newcomer Network (CANN). Sam shares insights from his work supporting educators who serve immigrant and newcomer students, discussing… Read more

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence welcomes Sam Singer, founder of the Volunteer State Seal of Biliteracy (VSSB) and veteran educator. Sam shares her journey from teaching in New York City and Nashville to creating Tennessee's first Seal of Biliteracy program in 2015. She discusses the… Read more

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Lara Evangelista, Executive Director at Internationals Network for Public Schools. Lara is a passionate advocate for multilingual learners and newcomer education, with years of experience as a principal and district leader in New York City. They… Read more

In this episode of The ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence welcomes back Montserrat Garibay, former Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) under the Biden-Harris administration. Together, they explore the State Seal of Biliteracy and its impact in recognizing… Read more

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence welcomes Arthur Chou, social entrepreneur, passionate advocate, and widely regarded as the "father" of the State Seal of Biliteracy. Arthur shares his journey, from launching national multilingual advocacy efforts to helping over 40 states establish their own… Read more

How do policy and practice work together to support English and multilingual learners in America's classrooms? In this episode, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence is joined by Dr. Megan Hopkins, professor at UC San Diego, and Dr. Hayley Weddle, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations,… Read more

In this episode, we sit with Dr. Julie Sugarman, Associate Director for K-12 Education Research at the Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. Dr. Sugarman helps stakeholders make sense of the complex research and policy issues impacting English and multilingual learners.… Read more

Concluding our four-part series on student voice- A journey that's taken us through the transformative stories of young leaders who helped shape the Iowa Student Learning Institute and amplify the voices of multilingual learners. To close out the series, we welcome Dr. Byron Darnall, the co-lead of the Student Voice… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes you to the third of an exceptional four-part series where we hear from the voices of our students. Dr. Lawrence sits down with former student Ian Coon, who served on the Iowa Student Learning Institute's ELL Leadership Team at the Iowa Department of Education. Follow along… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes you to the second of an exceptional four-part series where we hear from the voices of our students. Follow along as Dr. Lawrence sits down with former student Monica Figueroa, who served on the Iowa Student Learning Institute's ELL Leadership Team at the Iowa Department of… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes you to the first of an exceptional four-part series where we hear from the voices of our students. Follow along as Dr. Lawrence sits down with former students who served on the Iowa Student Learning Institute's ELL Leadership Team at the Iowa Department of Education.… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Ernesto Mejia, a Dean of Students who epitomizes the American dream. Follow along as Ernesto shares what it was like growing up with Mexican immigrant parents, his experience working with ELs in higher education, and how the American dream can look different for everyone.… Read more

You don't want to miss this episode of ASSETS! This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes a dear friend, retired Lieutenant Colonel Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, a 20-year U.S. Army Veteran. Follow along as Lt. Col. Kickbusch shares her remarkable story of overcoming the challenges of poverty and being a daughter of immigrants,… Read more

This time on ASSETS the podcast, we turn the spotlight inward with a very special "Meet the Host" episode. Our host and creator, Dr. Jobi Lawrence, shares the personal journey that led her to pursue a career in education, specifically with bilingual/multilingual learners. From early inspirations and challenges to the… Read more

Back by popular demand, we welcome Dr. Nooshan Ashtari for a very special Part 2 episode on the ASSETS Podcast. Join us as we discuss questions and topics provided by our listeners and take a deeper dive into technology and language education research studies. Dr. Ashtari is involved in virtual reality (VR) in teacher… Read more

This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan to discuss universal screening and literacy best practices for English and ​multilingual ​learners. Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan is a bilingual speech and language pathologist, certified dyslexia specialist, certified academic language specialist, qualified instructor,… Read more

This month on the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Mr. Steve Gill to discuss the identification of English learners with disabilities/dually identified English learners. Listen in as Mr. Gill shares his journey from being a school psychologist in a district with a high EL population to creating the ELL Critical… Read more

This month on ASSETS, we welcome a special guest from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Monique Dixon. Ms. Dixon was appointed in February 2021 by the Biden-Harris Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy for the Office for Civil Rights. In this role, she manages the program's legal group, which… Read more

This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes the Deputy Secretary and Director for the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education, Montserrat Garibay. Follow along as Ms. Garibay shares her journey from being an undocumented immigrant from Mexico City to becoming a U.S. citizen, National… Read more

In January, the ASSETS Podcast released its first episode of a TWO-PART series to reflect on the 50th anniversary of Lau v. Nichols, a landmark legal case affecting English learners and educators. Follow along as Dr. Lawrence and Mr. Edward Steinman, the attorney who successfully argued the Lau v. Nichols case,… Read more

The ASSETS Podcast is releasing its first-ever TWO-PART series in January and February to reflect on the 50th anniversary of Lau v. Nichols, a landmark legal case affecting English learners and educators. On January 21, 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the San… Read more

You do not want to miss this! The ASSETS Podcast is releasing its first-ever TWO-PART series in January and February to reflect on the 50th anniversary of Lau v. Nichols, a landmark legal case affecting English learners and educators. On January 21, 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, under the Civil… Read more

This month on ASSETS, we welcome Dr. Lhisa Almashy, a 27-year ESOL veteran educator. Dr. Almashy shares her experience transitioning back into the classroom after several years of working in higher education, her non-traditional path to teaching, and the life-changing lessons she learned through homestays in Vietnam.… Read more

This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes the Executive Producer, Host, and Creator of Afro-Latino Travels, Kim Haas. Listen as Kim shares her experiences traveling throughout Latin America, her involvement in Afro-Latino issues, and how her work has translated into the media and communications world. Kim explains the… Read more

This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Dr. Christy Lao, an Associate Professor of Education at San Francisco State University who has been actively involved in Chinese bilingual education for the past 20 years. Dr. Lao has provided professional development in Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) to Chinese bilingual teachers… Read more

This month on ASSETS, we welcome the "Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.," Dr. Danny Brassell. Dr. Brassell has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide and authored 16 books, including his latest, Leadership Begins with Motivation. He is the co-founder of www.theREADINGhabit.com , the world's top reading engagement program.… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes a special guest, Silvia Dorta-Duque de Reyes. Ms. Reyes is an expert in biliteracy, focusing on academic writing and teaching Spanish-to-English cross-linguistic transfer. She is a national biliteracy consultant and author for Benchmark Education. Follow along as Ms. Reyes… Read more

This month we welcome Dr. Claude Goldenberg, a Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education, emeritus, at Stanford University. Goldenberg received his A.B. in history from Princeton University and M. A. and Ph.D. from UCLA's Graduate School of Education. A native of Argentina, his research areas centered on promoting… Read more

In this episode of ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Virtual Reality (VR) in Teacher training, reading in SLA, accents, and linguistic racism, as well as heritage language development researcher Nooshan Ashtari. Follow along as they discuss technology and language, Ashtari's experiences conducting research in various… Read more

This week on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes multiple degree holder, educational specialist, publisher, former CNN panelists, motivational speaker, and principal of the year Dr. Washington Collado. Follow along as Dr. Collado shares his own experience as an English learner, the cultural disconnect when engaging with… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence sits down with Dr. Margarita Calderón, a Professor Emerita/Senior Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, who has over 100 publications on language and literacy. Follow along as Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Calderón discuss specific features of reading and writing for MLs with… Read more

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence discusses sociocultural competence with Lisa Tabaku. Lisa is the Director of Dual Language and Multilingual Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics. Previously, she served as the Director of Civil Rights and Multicultural Affairs, Executive Director of the Office of Bilingual… Read more

Interested in learning about five practices for supporting students living with adversity? Listen in as Dr. Lawrence sits with an expert consultant, Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who has authored over 100 publications and holds advanced degrees in Clinical Psychology and Educational Policy and Research. Follow along as Dr.… Read more

How does understanding culture influence empathy? This month, Dr. Lawrence sits with Dorina Sackman-Ebuwa, also known as The Lab Coat Teacher and affectionately "Miss Dorito" by EL students worldwide, to discuss 25 years of EL/Bilingual classroom experiences and doctoral research on Emotional Intelligence. Follow… Read more

This month, Dr. Lawrence sits with Professor Emerita of Education in the Division of Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Dr. Kathy Escamilla. Follow along as Dr. Escamilla shares her experience as a member of one of the first-ever bilingual education programs and discusses the… Read more

This month, our host Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits with Mr. Alex Kajitani, also known as "The Rappin' Mathematician," California Teacher of the year and co-author of a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Listen in to hear Dr. Lawrence and Mr. Kajitani rap their way to better understanding how math can be made more comprehensible… Read more

Do frequent fiction readers have more empathy for others? Tune in to find out! In this episode, we sit with educational researcher, linguist, and activist, Dr. Stephen Krashen, to discuss self-selected pleasure reading and how it benefits first and second language development. Follow along as Dr. Krashen shares the… Read more

ASSETS is an original podcast series hosted by Dr. Jobi Lawrence. Follow along as she takes a deep dive into the educational realities of multilingual learners across the country. Dr. Lawrence focuses on the opportunities and inherent challenges of meeting the needs of our nation's multilingual learners to ensure that… Read more